Trudeau to shuffle cabinet Friday as pressure for him to resign remains

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his cabinet on Friday morning.

A government source confirms a swearing-in ceremony will take place at Rideau Hall.

This comes at the end of a tumultuous week that saw Trudeau lose his finance minister and face a new swell of pressure within his caucus for him to resign.

Before Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell resignation on Dec. 16 Trudeau had already been preparing a cabinet shuffle to replace five ministers who had told him they won’t be running in the next election.

He is also now expected to appoint a new public safety minister with Dominic LeBlanc now balancing that portfolio with the finance role he was given hours after Freeland’s departure.

LeBlanc responded “yes” Thursday when asked if Trudeau has the full support of cabinet to stay on as leader.

Trudeau had been courting Mark Carney to become the next finance minister, but LeBlanc plans to keep the job until the election.

“(Trudeau) told me that I was going to be the finance minister for his government until the next election,” LeBlanc said at a New Brunswick news conference.

“I wasn’t part of any conversations with Mr. Carney, but Mr. Carney isn’t about to become Canada’s finance minister in the short term.”

With a cabinet shuffle coming, Leblanc said that sometimes Trudeau asks for his views on his colleagues, and sometimes he doesn’t.

“Those are private conversations. If a Member of Parliament or Minister talks publicly about those conversations normally you wouldn’t be part of that cabinet for long and I really like the job I have,” LeBlanc said.

The five ministers who are not seeking re-election include Housing Minister Sean Fraser, Sport Minister Carla Qualtrough, National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude-Bibeau, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal and Southern Ontario Economic Development Minister Filomena Tassi.

It’s common practice for ministers not seeking re-election to be replaced.

Ministers Anita Anand and Ginette Petitpas Taylor are both serving in dual portfolios after the cabinet departures of Pablo Rodriguez from transport and Randy Boissonnault from employment and official languages.

Anand assumed Rodriguez’s responsibilities on top of being president of the Treasury Board and Petitpas Taylor took on Boissonnault’s duties in addition to Veterans Affairs.

This all comes as Trudeau faces growing calls to step down as Liberal leader from his own caucus in the wake of Freeland’s resignation.

In a social media post, Toronto MP and foreign affairs parliamentary secretary Rob Oliphant said he called for an “urgent meeting” of his riding association executive Thursday before taking a public stand on the leadership question.

“What’s best for Canada comes first and our party comes second,” Oliphant wrote.

New Brunswick Liberal Wayne Long said earlier this week that 40 to 50 caucus members believe it’s time for Trudeau to go, including five cabinet ministers.

LeBlanc said that concerns are being heard.

“They, in a caucus meeting, expressed those views directly to the prime minister himself. He, in some cases, responded to specific things that were raised and he would reflect carefully on what he’s heard,” LeBlanc said at the New Brunswick news conference.

Freeland announced her resignation as Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister on Monday, just hours before the fall economic statement was set to be introduced.

Trudeau has cancelled his year-end interviews with news outlets and has yet to publicly discuss Freeland’s departure.

He has resisted calls for him to leave for more than a year now, but should the latest situation change his mind he has several options, including resigning immediately and walking away or staying on until a new leader is chosen. Both of those options likely would require Parliament to be prorogued briefly for a short leadership race to take place.

The House of Commons is now on its holiday break, giving the prime minister a few weeks to decide on his next move before MPs return to Ottawa on Jan. 27.

On Tuesday evening, he spoke at the national Liberal caucus holiday party in Ottawa, where Freeland was in attendance.

He indirectly referred to Monday’s events, saying the previous few days had been eventful.

The embattled Prime Minister likened the recent discord among the Liberal Party he leads to a family that fights during the holidays.

“Like most families, sometimes we have fights around the holidays,” he added to scattered laughter. “But of course, like most families, we find our way through it.”